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TRIP WIRE is great title for Charlotte Carter's latest mystery; the device is a trigger that activates something hidden and distant. Carter makes good use of the concept to construct a wonderfully dynamic and compelling mystery set in 1968 Chicago. The trip wire can be used as a metaphor for both the mystery (why were Wilton and Mia murdered?) and the times (the violence that emerged at the Democratic National Convention). TRIP WIRE presents an almost perfect picture of one of our country's most disturbing and exciting times. It is the story of Cassandra, a middle class, black woman living in Chicago in the fall of 1968. She's in the prime of her youth, exulting in the freedom of that age and confused by the social anger and disillusionment that followed the Summer of Love. Setting and character are key to the novel and to the mystery. True to the times and like so many of her generation, Cassandra has sworn allegiance to a group of people that she has only recently met. Cassandra's communal home is a run-down, downtown apartment - a motley crew of whites and blacks, wealthy and poor, a group complete with an earth mother and drug dealer. In retrospect, our recall of these times are the tremendous social upheavals of the time: the anti-war movement, the Democratic National Convention and Black Power. But these are just backdrops for Cassandra's life as she tries to assert herself as an independent young black woman. Politics and racial anger are less important to Cassandra and the mystery than are relationships, drugs and personal politics. The reader is aware of the weekly death toll in Vietnam and intrigued about the 'deadly black undertones' of a boyfriend's threat but these cultural references don't worry or vex, and serve as interesting asides to the novel. In contrast, the reader is almost amused by police who are 'pigs', rubric such as "turn on, tune in, drop out" and maintenance of the communal bong and more concerned about Cassandra who too often mistakes sex for love. The mystery provides a wonderful perspective on daily life in Chicago in the fall of 1968, when real life intrudes on the generation's massive social experiment. As the mystery progresses, the undertones of race and politics grow stronger and more evident. Cassandra is a plucky and persistent accidental sleuth, who is determined to find out why Wilton and Mia were murdered. Despite the warnings of her aunt and uncle, Cassandra continues to use her special insight and access to her social strata to reveal the killer. At the same time, she learns more than she cares to know about the people that she lived with and loved and called her family. TRIP WIRE is Charlotte Carter's second Cook County mystery and it stands alone well. You won't want to miss the first one though, JACKSON PARK published by One World in 2003. Carter is also the author of the Nanette Hayes series (RHODE ISLAND RED, COQ AU VIN, and DRUMSTICKS), and the very edgy standalone WALKING BONES published by Serpent's Tail in 2002.
Reviewed by Maureen Battistella, May 2005
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